a Florida gardening blog

How to Keep Basil from Going to Seed

Around August, it starts to send out flower stalks. If you have harvested all the basil you need for the year, this is a good time for you to let it complete its life cycle and go to seed.

However, if you still want more basil, you can extend the productivity of the basil by pruning off the flower heads located where the flower head meets a node. Look for where other basil stalks are trying to emerge.

In the above picture, my thumb is right above a node.

Snip off the flower head, and leave the two smaller branches to grow. As the plant gets older, the basil become more insisting on bolting and eventually you’ll just have to let it go to seed. Good news: you can save those seeds for next year!

However, this one little trick of pinching back your basil flowers can extend the life of your basil for a few more weeks of delicious fresh pesto!